Remembering It All - (L Lawliet Love Story)
by PurpleForDonnie
Summary: My life just got complicated. I work with L and the task force to help solve the Kira case, but throw in the fact that I have my own Death Note and my Shinigami Nobu is being all secretive about the rules, and that's just half of my problems. Maybe things wouldn't be so complicated if L wasn't so adorable. I just want to solve this case, and fast. Please help. LxOC Romance
1. Chapter 1

***Author's Note: Hello everyone! So I've been working on this story for forever, and please don't kill me because I literally have like a million stories started at one time! I swear I'll get around to them all! :)**

 **Anyway, I've always been so interested in L's personality, and really wanted to write a story where he was the love interest, because he's so socially awkward! Haha. And here is the fruits of my efforts! I will mention now some important factors, and please read them!**

 **1... I've made a couple tiny changes to the plot. They really are super tiny so you probably won't notice them.**

 **2... I will have to change the ending a bit for the plot of the anime to line up with my own plot. I won't give away what happens!**

 **But if you're one of those people who hate it when stories stray from the original then you probably won't like mine.**

 **Anyway! If you choose to continue then please enjoy! And please please please review and let me know what you think! I love to read them! :) ****

 **...**

Growing up, I never believed in God. I didn't even believe in Fate, or any such existence that I couldn't prove or see with my own two eyes.  
But one day I learned that there are rules in this world that are too great for even humans to have created.  
Yes, this is my story. The story of how I met my Shinigami, and how the very presences I hadn't believed in caused my abrupt entrance into a world I never could have imagined.  
Fate or God, maybe even both, had a hand in everything that occurred to me.  
But this isn't just my story.  
It's also the story of me and a man known only to the world... as L.

...

It all started the day I graduated from university.  
I was ecstatic to be graduating with a degree in the field that interested me the most: psychology.  
I was sitting in my chair, alongside my entire graduating class. Nervous and excited emotions were practically tangible amongst the students as we all whispered to each other.  
For some reason, the university had decided to have the ceremony outside, and the cool breeze blew back my long hair as I awaited my name to be called.  
I had entered college at a young age, and surpassed many in my field, jumping right into the more advanced classes.  
And I was graduating now at the fresh age of twenty years old.  
Impressive, isn't it?  
Maybe, maybe not.  
Anyway, my name was finally called to graduate, and I walked up on the stage to be handed my diploma.  
All my hard work was finally coming to an end, here and now.  
But as I stood there, on the platform, I don't even remember being handed the formal scroll that signified the end to my collected education... Because something on the ground far away caught my eye.  
From my raised view on the stage, I could just make out what seemed to be a black book laying beneath a tree. Just sitting there.  
Something about that book struck a chord in me.  
It was important somehow, I could feel it.  
Suddenly, my attention rubber-banded back to my own graduation ceremony, and I could hear the crowd clapping as I modestly bowed and stepped off the stage to allow the next graduate room.  
But I didn't return to my seat.  
Instead, I passed everyone up and approached the black book, which was far away across the entire field.  
Nobody made to stop me.  
My gaze stayed trained on the book, it's aura captivating me and practically beckoning me with ghostly fingers.  
I finally stopped, just before the book and stared down at it.  
Everything seemed so silent at that moment. My fingers tightly gripped my diploma, but for some reason I felt a bit dizzy.  
Shaking off the worry, I bent down to get a better look at the thing.  
It was black, and in a strange English font, the words 'Death Note' had been written down the side so the title was vertical.  
Who's was it? I wondered. Did it belong to someone?  
I suspiciously glanced around at the ceremony, expecting to see someone angrily stalking towards me, but nobody was paying me any mind.  
Maybe it didn't belong to anyone anymore.  
With a deep breath, I reached over and picked up the book.  
And then my entire life changed.

... Three Months Later ...

"Nobu," I said, glancing up from my papers, which had scattered about on my small table.  
He turned as he levitated in midair, tearing his own gaze away from my television. The Shinigami had been watching the screen intently although I had the volume muted so I could concentrate.  
"What?" he asked in his growling voice.  
Nobu was the death god that had shown up with the book I'd picked up on the day of my graduation. He was extremely tall, but also extremely thin- to the point he almost looked like a skeleton. Long black hair hung around his paper-white, thin face, and his large yellow eyes always looked captivated somehow. Even though I had no idea why shinigamis would need to dress, he wore a black shirt and black pants, and boots, and a necklace around his neck with a letter that I didn't understand. It looked like a cross between the English letters T and K but I'd never seen it before.  
In the way of personality, Nobu always seemed overly-interested in everything and I always ended up explaining everything he asked about in excruciating detail.  
"What? You called me," Nobu reminded me, his low voice half-growl, half-monotone.  
"Are you sure it's okay if I don't use the Death Note?" I finally asked him, setting my work aside. "I mean... I only used it once to test it, but I don't want to use it anymore."  
"Relinquishing ownership is always an option," Nobu stated emotionlessly again.  
"But... I don't want to give anyone else this power," I replied, propping my arm up against the couch I was sitting on. "What if it goes to the wrong person? Then we'll get more of these mysterious killings that have been going on recently."  
"You're right," Nobu said, distractedly watching the television again.  
"I have no idea who's been going around, killing off criminals, but whoever it is has to have a Death Note as well... Right?" I asked the Shinigami.  
"I don't see any other way," Nobu said, distractedly, still not looking at me.  
"Nobu," I said, tossing a pillow at him, in false anger.  
He caught it agitatedly without looking, but still didn't pay any attention to my inquiries.  
"Will there ever come a day when you actually answer my questions?" I asked, crossing my arms.  
He didn't respond.  
Well... To be fair, he'd explained to me about the Death Note the day he'd showed up, and he gave vague answers whenever I fought for his attention enough... But I still felt as if he were holding back vital information.  
It'd been almost three months since I'd graduated and found the notebook. I'd gotten such high scores on my testing that I'd been offered a job immediately... And with the police, which was an honour.  
Usually, my job just consisted of the police telling me the facts about a certain case and- because I was a psychiatrist/psychologist- I could provide them with insight about the suspect they were trying to catch.  
It wasn't a bad job at all.  
"Well," I said to the Shinigami, with an agitated huff. "If you won't provide your insight here, at least tell me straight up... Is this internet sensation Kira a Death Note holder? That's all I want to know. Kira has been killing criminals since just before I started working."  
Nobu turned to me finally, and crossed his arms as he levitated, copying my sitting position exactly although he wasn't on any chair.  
"I don't know for sure," he replied. "But if I had to guess... I'd say he is. There isn't any other power that can do what the Death Note does. At least, not that I know of."  
"Thanks for answering," I said, studying his emotionless face. "You can ask a question now."  
This was how I got information out of him. Nobu was so interested in everything in the human world that he would ask endless questions sometimes.  
"A question?" Nobu repeated, his emotionless face actually lighting up a bit. He leaned closer to me and squinted his round eyes in thought. "The human colour... Everything is so green here- why is everything so green?"  
He looked at me expectantly, but I wasn't even really sure what he was talking about.  
"You mean outside?" I asked, to which he nodded enthusiastically. I sighed. "Because it's been raining, and it's the end of summer, so all the vegetation is alive."  
And this answer brought forth a million more questions, just as I had suspected, and I answered them all half-heartedly.

...

News of Kira had been circulating for a while now, and I was getting even more curious as to who this guy was.  
How had he gotten a hold of a Death Note? And why was he using it this way?  
It was driving me crazy.  
Until one day, as Nobu and I watched TV as I was doing my paper work, a man suddenly appeared on the screen, interrupting my usual program.  
He had black hair and was wearing a suit, and introduced himself as Lind L. Tailor.  
"I'm L," he admitted to everyone watching.  
Because I worked in the police department, I'd definitely heard of this 'L' character. Nowadays, especially with this Kira business going around, L was spoken of quite often by the civil servants.  
From what I could make of it, L was this bad-ass big-shot mysterious detective who worked in anonymity through computers. Apparently, whenever he even spoke to the police, he used a voice-mixer so nobody would be able to recognise his voice... Which I found slightly interesting but also slightly disturbing at the same time.  
And nobody knew who this guy was.  
Now, as I was watching the TV screen, this Tailor guy who claimed to be L basically came out and told Kira to kill him to prove that he was really Kira.  
And... To my surprise... The guy gripped his chest and had a heart attack right on screen... And died.  
"Did L just die?" I asked out loud, and Nobu turned his interested attention to the TV as well. "The way everyone talked, L is genius-level... So why would he die so easily?"  
I put a hand to my chin and returned my eyes to the television.  
But then a voice suddenly played through the screen as the Tailor man died, a voice that was being sent through a mixer so nobody would be able to recognise it.  
"Kira," the voice said. "I can't believe this actually worked. This is the real L. The man you have just killed was an inmate sentenced to die tonight."  
He went on to explain that Lind L. Tailor's message had only been broadcasted in this Kanto region of Japan, so now the police knew exactly what area Kira was located.  
"That was genius," I said quietly, in surprise.  
"Hm," Nobu mumbled.  
"How did he know that Kira would take the bait?" I asked, quietly to myself.  
"Not sure," Nobu replied. "But there isn't any doubt in my mind. This Kira is a Death Note holder, I'm sure of it."  
"What makes you say that?" I questioned.  
"That man asked Kira to kill him to prove himself," Nobu answered, "and then exactly forty seconds later, he died of a heart attack."  
"You're right," I added, surprised. "The rules of the Death Note do say that if no cause of death is specified, the human whose name is written will die of a heart attack forty seconds later..."  
That was the most helpful information Nobu had ever given me before.  
I watched the screen in fascination as L's voice continued to tell Kira that he would find him.  
The program blinked back off silently.  
How impressive.  
I turned to Nobu and shrugged, but the Shinigami was floating over to my bookshelf, where he spent the remainder of the day flipping through random books.

...

"Ena Wakahisa?" the voice asked to me on the other side of the phone. I'd answered, not really sure who to be expecting, but whoever I'd subconsciously assumed had called me in the middle of the night... I was dead wrong.  
I knew that voice.  
"This is she," I replied politely, and the person at the other end of the phone cleared their throat. It sounded strange through the voice mixer.  
"This is L," the voice continued.  
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words were able to escape my tense throat. I was completely silent. "Have you heard of me?" the voice added.  
"I- yes, sir, I have," I finally was able to answer.  
"I thought so," he continued, his voice a mixture of high and low timbres to throw off the sound. "I have a request to make of you."  
"What?" I inquired, curiously.  
Why in the world would the world-famous detective L be calling me? What request could he possibly have to ask?  
"I'd like to hire you," the voice continued. "I understand that you are a psychologist, and I'd like to hear your opinions."  
"All... Right," I said, quietly, in disbelief.  
"I'll give you the rest of the details tomorrow. Please show up to this address, alone," L added. "It's extremely important that you don't bring anyone else. I can't stress that fact enough to you." He paused. "I'm having the address sent to you now. Please be expecting it. Thank you for your time."  
Click.  
He... hung up?  
It had been about a week since Kira had killed the man on television, and I hadn't been able to keep up-to-date on the case through the news... So I really had no idea why this L guy wanted to hire me.  
Suddenly, my fax machine kicked to life and a loud whirring sound scrubbed the air as it warmed up by itself. The internal workings of the machine suddenly grabbed a paper up from the stack and ran it through the reams, finally spitting it out onto the paper holder.  
Confused, I approached the fax machine and picked up the paper, feeling how it was still slightly warm from the print. I held my breath as my gaze scanned across, not quite believing my eyes for a moment.  
Printed on the paper was the address of a hotel, and at the bottom it read: "At 12:30 am, please come alone. -L "  
"Eh... How did he get my fax number?" I inquired out loud, half impressed, half weirded out.  
With a strong sigh, I lowered the paper from my face and glanced over at Nobu, who was staring out my living room window interestedly.  
It was as if he hadn't even heard the phone ring... Or maybe he just didn't care enough to drag his attention away from whatever he was staring at outside.  
I guessed... I really didn't have any other option. Against my better judgment, I would have to go to this mentioned hotel and meet the man who claimed to be L.  
Alone.


	2. Chapter 2

***Author's Note: Hello again! Thanks so much for reading! Thanks so much to anyone who's just read this or reviewed or favourited or followed or anything! If people at least let me know they're reading then it gives me the motivation to keep updating! Haha! :) Anyway, thanks again and please let me know what you think of the chapter!**

 **PS: I don't own Death Note or any characters besides my OCs (Ena Wakahisa and Nobu).**

 **...**

... Before ...

"Nobu, I have a question," I asked my Shinigami as we both walked down the street.  
I'd only been in ownership of the Death Note for about a week now.  
I wore a pair of sunglasses that day despite the partly cloudy weather, and held a cellphone up to my ear in case anyone overheard me talking to Nobu.  
Pushing past the people in the crowded streets, I tried to whisper so no one would be able to understand my words.  
Nobu hovered in the air above me, his black hair hanging absentmindedly in front of his emotionless face.  
"What?" he asked, not really sounding as if he cared.  
"You said that there could be other Death Notes in the world, right?" I started. "And I've been offered a job with the police... But names are what people with Death Notes use to kill..." I continued to muse, with Nobu not answering me until I posed a valid question. "If I'm going to be working with the police, and there have been all these killings recently... Do you think it would be best if I changed my name?" I paused, and Nobu actually glanced up at me, now interested in my words.  
"Does whoever is killing the criminals worry you?" he asked in return.  
"Well... Yes," I replied. "Because the police will eventually see him as a criminal himself, and try to stop him. And if I'm working with the police at that point, then he might want to kill me as well."  
"You're right," Nobu said. "The police wouldn't think anything of it if you changed your name... They probably wouldn't even notice because they only know you by your test scores."  
"That's settled, then," I finalised, turning a corner to my apartment, and finally breaking away from the crowd. "Before I accept the job offer, I'll change my name. That way, in case this killer gets even more popular in this world, I'll be covered. He can't kill me if he doesn't know my name."  
I climbed the steps and unlocked my door, finally walking into the reassuring familiarity that was my home. I threw my purse on the table and plopped down on the couch, with Nobu sitting cross-legged in the air beside me.  
The Shinigami gave me a curious glance from the corner of his eye, and I suddenly got the suspicion that he wasn't telling me something important.  
Well... It DID say in the Note that Shimigamis weren't required to necessarily tell the human everything. But damn. It still would have been appreciated.  
I decided to ignore my suspicions, and put my chin in my hand to think.  
"You know..." I mumbled. "I've always liked the name Ena Wakahisa..."

... Now ...

It was 12:30 in the morning, and I was standing in front of the fancy hotel that L had faxed me the address of.  
The wind was slightly chilly, so I wore a black trench coat. But I also sported a pair of sunglasses so nobody would be able to see my face. My Death Note was tucked away in the inner pocket of my purse- a pocket I had designed to be hidden to anyone who didn't know it was already there.  
Nobu hung around behind me, quiet as usual whenever we were in public.  
There were already cars parked alongside the building, in the visitor's section, so I knew something strange was going on.  
Now that I thought about it... It was strange that L had gotten a hold of me the way he had... And I had no proof that he was even L...  
What if he was Kira, or some criminal equivalent to that?  
No. I shook my head.  
Kira only killed criminals, and he always did so quickly and without hassle. He wouldn't go to all the trouble of inviting people over to a random hotel if he was just going to kill them.  
Feeling a bit better about the situation, I entered the hotel, which seemed normal enough. There were a few people lingering about and talking, so I passed them all up and entered the elevator.  
As the elevator took me up a few stories, I suddenly became nervous once again. Was I really about to meet L? The L that all the detectives talked about with such high opinions?  
Or was this a trap of some sort?  
I pushed my sunglasses closer against my face in order to regain my serenity and the elevator doors dinged open.  
I looked down the hallway and immediately saw the room number that had come with the address.  
With a calming breath, I approached the door and knocked firmly although my fingers shook.  
I heard voices on the other side of the door, as if they were discussing something. But as soon as I knocked against the wood, the voices hushed suspiciously.  
Without waiting for a response, I opened the door- which was unlocked- and walked into the room.  
I noticed straight off that there were several men in the room and no other women.  
I recognised a few of them as police officers.  
I shut the door behind me and paused to take a quick glance around.  
A man suddenly caught my attention. He was standing as if he'd been approaching to answer the door when I'd just walked right in.  
He was almost the same height I was, although he was slightly bent over as if he were cowering away. The man glanced up at me with black eyes, dark circles underneath signalling that he hadn't slept well in who-knew-when. His face definitely wasn't bad-looking, but the emptiness in his eyes caught me off guard.  
He put the thumb of his left hand up against his lip to think, and then raised his right hand to point directly at my confused face.  
"Bang," he said in monotone.  
"Uh..." I didn't really know what to say.  
"If I were Kira, you'd be dead already," the man went on, his thumb still slightly pulling down his bottom lip.  
"Uh... Sorry," was all I could manage to say.  
The man turned around and walked back over to his chair, motioning over toward a table where several cellphones sat.  
"Please hang your coat up over there," he said. "Cellphones- turned off, of course- go on that table, along with your purse and sunglasses."  
He jumped up onto his chair, sitting with his legs pulled up against his chest. Stacks of chocolate candies in shiny wrappers sat on the other table in front of him. The man reached over, picked one up gingerly as if it would break, pulled the wrapper off and popped the chocolate into his mouth. He watched me with round eyes as he licked his fingers to remove any traces of the chocolate.  
I was so confused that I only knew deep down that I shouldn't give up contact with all my personal possessions so easily.  
"I don't like that," I stated, starting to recover my senses again. "I don't know who you are. For all I know, you could be Kira."  
The man stared up at me from beneath his black hair and narrowed his eyes a bit.  
"I'm not Kira," he sounded slightly amused. "I am L."  
"You... Are L?" I repeated, surprised.  
"Yes, why? Were you expecting someone different?" he inquired, turning his head a bit, his wide eyes still seemingly searching my soul.  
"No, it's not that," I replied, realising what kind of situation I was in. I gave L a quick bow to show my respect. "I've heard quite a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you."  
I stood back up and took off my jacket, finally hanging it up where he'd suggested.  
"Thank you," L mumbled, unwrapping another chocolate. The foil-paper crinkled in the room and was the only sound to be heard as I set my purse on the small table. Then I quickly pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and set it beside my bag, only remembering my sunglasses at the last second.  
After finishing everything he'd requested, I approached the couch and sat beside the detectives that were already occupying the seats.  
"Ena Wakahisa," L started, leaning over his knees as he sat strangely in his chair. "You may already know the detectives that are here. I informed them to come early, so I had plenty of time to explain to them what is going on. These six men are the only detectives interested in pursuing the Kira case. Because I enjoy hearing the opinions of others, I'd like to hire you as a psychiatrist. If and when you agree to this, you will be joining us on the case against Kira. Do you understand and agree?"  
"Yes," I automatically replied, firmly.  
"Are you sure?" L repeated. "If you agree to be a part of this case, it means that you understand that there is a chance you may die."  
"A chance I could die?" I asked, not really surprised, but hesitating once I heard the words out loud.  
"Yes, approximately a thirty-seven percent chance, if you'd like the numbers," L continued, silently unwrapping another chocolate.  
"Hm," I said, with a shrug. "I can take those numbers. I'm in."  
"Right," L said with his mouth full of chocolate. "Ena Wakahisa, meet Detectives Hirokazu Ukita, Hideki Ide, Kanzo Mogi, Shuichi Aizawa, Touta Matsuda, and Chief Soichiro Yagami."  
Each of the men nodded as his name was spoken, and I nodded back politely.  
"Nice to meet you," I replied.  
The rest of the meeting seemed to go well.  
L introduced a man named Watari, who seemed to act as his butler or personal assistant. Watari brought out belts that each of us were required to wear in case we ever met up with Kira or got into trouble. They held a panic button in the centre that would automatically contact L.  
"Woah!" Matsuda exclaimed as he picked up his own belt. "It's like we're in a real-life spy movie or something!"  
Everyone removed their belts, giving their younger coworker a strange glance, and replaced them with the button belts.  
L also gave the officers fake IDs in case they ever were put in a situation where they had to show their police badges to anyone.  
"To recap the situation," L announced, "FBI agents Raye Penber and the rest of the force have been killed, and we have reason to believe that Kira is the cause of death." He paused, and I suddenly noticed that he wasn't wearing any shoes. His feet distractedly shuffled as he sat on the couch. "Penber was an agent I hired myself to keep track of the families of certain police officers. I suspect that Kira is in one of the families that were being tracked by the FBI at that time. I'll make a list and each of us will carefully review each family to make a new and narrowed-down suspect list."  
"Sounds good," the Chief, Yagami, agreed.  
"And it would be for the best if I was addressed as Ryuzaki from now on," L added, still sitting strangely in his chair.  
Everyone mumbled their consent. They knew that L was widely known for being the best detective around. If Kira got wind of who L was, he could die at any moment.  
I silently wondered if Ryuzaki was in fact his real name and he was trying to throw everyone off, but then L called the meeting to a close, saying he'd get in contact with us to tell us the new location of our meetings.  
As everyone grabbed their phones and whatnot off the table, an aura settled around the room.  
I met the gaze of Nobu as he levitated in midair by the window. He still looked as if he were withholding information from me, but I shook off the feelings and left the room with all the detectives.  
Just as I turned and was about to close the door, I noticed L staring at me from his chair. His gaze was carefully guarded as if he didn't want anyone else inside his head but himself.  
"I look forward to working with you," he mumbled, his thumb still pressed against his lower lip.  
"See you then," I replied and closed the door, finally breaking our eye contact.

...

I went home that night, exhausted but dead set on getting some answers out of Nobu.  
The Shinigami stayed right behind me all the way to my apartment, never once commenting on the chat with the police and L.  
Nobu was so unpredictable, I had to admit. He was interested in the things he was interested in, and when he wasn't interested in something, he loathed even talking about it.  
I'd never angered him as far as I knew, because I'd basically accepted that he wasn't going to be of any use to me unless I forced him.  
When I finally got home, I threw my purse on the table and plopped down on the couch as usual.  
Nobu drifted to the window and gazed out apathetically.  
He reached an arm out as if to stretch and his sleeve rose up a bit, allowing me to catch a glimpse at what his body looked like. It seemed his arm was almost made of bone, and I couldn't tell if he was in fact a skeleton or if he was just that thin.  
"Hey, Nobu," I called to him. He didn't turn to face me but made a grunting noise to show he was listening. "How did your Death Note get to the human world, anyway? Was it an accident?"  
Nobu turned and met my gaze directly, some tortured expression deep in his yellow eyes, and at first I was surprised.  
He raised his gloved hand to his chin in thought and crossed his legs in the air.  
"Don't talk about that," he snapped.  
I only stared at him in shock, now actually a bit more than curious about his Note getting to the human world.  
"I'm sorry," I apologised. "I didn't know it was such a touchy subject. I was just curious because you told me that Death Notes really belonged in the Shinigami world."  
"They do," Nobu calmed down to his usual apathy and let out what sounded like a sigh. He turned his head so I couldn't see his eyes. "If you had to guess, why would you think my Note ended up here?"  
"If I had to guess?" I repeated, once again thrown for a loop. "Hm." I thought about how Nobu was actually interested in the human world, and how he always seemed to be studying everyone, even when his face was emotionless. "I would guess that... You dropped your Note on purpose so you could study the human world."  
Nobu didn't turn to meet my gaze, he just stayed levitating in midair, legs crossed, hand to his chin, yellow eyes narrowed.  
"Hm," he actually let out a soft chuckle and it was the first time I had ever heard him laugh. "Close."  
He didn't add anything else and returned to his silence.  
As he stared out the window again, I debated on asking him other questions. Now I was more curious than ever about why Nobu had dropped his Death Note in the human world.  
And I also wanted to ask him about L's real name...  
"Can you see L's name and lifespan above his head?" I asked the Shinigami quietly.  
"Yes," Nobu replied, still staring out the window solemnly.  
"Is L his real name?" I inquired calmly.  
"Yes," Nobu said with a sigh.  
"One last question," I told him, laughing a bit as he cast me an agitated expression over his shoulder. "I promise, last one. I was wondering... Why do you always look out the window? Is there somewhere specific you wanted to go?"  
Nobu had been sitting casually in the air, but his posture became rigid at my words.  
"Nowhere specific," he answered, tensely.  
He didn't say anything else, but I realised suddenly that I felt sorry for Nobu.  
He didn't seem like a very happy Shinigami. I'd never met any other Shinigami, so I wasn't sure if they were all this way, or if something was just bothering Nobu.  
I decided that maybe I could do something.  
"Nobu," I said out loud, and he didn't react. "I know I said no more questions... But what's the Shinigami world like? Where you're from? Do you miss it at all?"  
Nobu actually didn't seem angry at me for asking another question even after I'd promised him I'd stop.  
His gaze looked up at me in interest, and he stood up from his sitting position.  
He plopped down on the couch next to me, not really on the couch but in the air as usual.  
"There's not really any one way to describe the world I know," he answered, seemingly content all of a sudden. His depressed mood had lightened considerably for some reason... As I said, unpredictable. "It's almost as if the Shinigami world is... Inside another world. It's closed off. Claustrophobic. Dry, and monotone all the time. There's nothing to do. All the shinigamis gamble their lifespans away out of boredom." Nobu glanced over at me, his face lighting up like a child whose parents were about to tell them a story. "That's why I prefer the human world. There's so much colour here. Colour... and life." He settled back down and crossed his arms. "Tell me what you like most about this world," he said.  
"I think... the people," I answered. "Everyone is so interesting to me. That's the reason I became a psychiatrist."  
"I understand," Nobu replied. "I also enjoy humans. They're so different from Shinigami..."  
He trailed off, and I sensed something in his rough voice as he spoke.  
I didn't answer and he didn't continue, so I stood up and stretched.  
"I guess I'm going to bed," I told him. "Thanks for answering my questions, Nobu." He didn't reply, and I walked over to the hallway that contained my bedroom. "If there's anywhere you want to go, or anyplace you want to see, just let me know, okay? We can take a trip there whenever I have free time."  
"Really?" Nobu perked up, then covered his expression again. "I'll think about it."  
"Night," I told him, then closed my bedroom door behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

***Author's Note: Hello! Another update already! :) Thanks so so much for continuing with this story! This fic is kind of my pride and joy because I've been working so long on it. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed and followed and favourited! I wouldn't be posting this right now without your support! Thanks for being so awesome! :)**

 **PS... I don't own Death Note. I only own my OCs Ena Wakahisa and Nobu! ****

 **...**

I was standing in the parking lot of yet another hotel. Early in the morning, I had been faxed another set of addresses and room numbers, along with the time 8 am.  
I guessed I really was intended to help them with their Kira case.  
I guessed I shouldn't be surprised. Why would L lie about something like that?  
With Nobu still trailing along behind me, I confidently strolled up to the door and entered the hotel lobby, which was actually empty.  
I didn't even see anybody at the desk as I walked into the elevator and pressed the button to take me upstairs.  
As the elevator moved up, I thought to myself about this Kira character we were having to investigate. I knew by now that he had a Death Note, and if he had a note, he also had a Shinigami.  
I wondered if I were to ever come face-to-face with Kira for some crazy reason, if Nobu would be able to see his Shinigami...  
The elevator doors dinged open and I stopped my thoughts and walked down the hallway to approach the door L had faxed me the number of.  
I opened the door without even knocking and slipped inside.  
"Ena," the detectives greeted me and I gave them each a polite nod as I sat down on the couch, directly beside where L was crouched in his chair, holding a plate of white and strawberry cake.  
I'd noticed that L seemed to have quite the sweet tooth. The only two instances I had ever met him, he'd been eating sweets.  
"Ena Wakahisa," L mumbled as he talked with his mouth full. "Good to see you're still dedicated to this case. And you're just in time. Your services will be greatly needed today."  
"Whatever you need me to do, I'll give it my best," I answered, with a solemn face.  
"Thank you," L mumbled, still eating his cake. He finally looked up to the group of us as a whole. "I'd like us to review the tapes I've been given of FBI agent Raye Penber's death."  
The room was silent, and L took another bite of cake, his feet still bare like before.  
"Watari, please bring a TV in here," L added, not even looking around to see where his assistant was.  
"Right away," Watari replied, and left the room.  
I wondered briefly how L had gotten an elderly man like Watari to work for him, but then found myself speaking out loud without realising it.  
"L," I started.  
"Ryuzaki," L reminded me, amusedly.  
"Right," I waved it off. "Why did you decide to hire me, out of all the psychiatrists in the area? I mean... I just graduated a few months ago. I have practically zero job experience."  
L didn't look at me for a while, just took the last bite of his cake and set the empty plate down on the table. Finally, he glanced up and his dark eyes met mine and seemed to captivate me. There was something about those eyes that made you wonder just what he was thinking... Because they were so expressionless...  
"I hired you for several reasons," L continued, matter-of-factly. "One: your test scores were outstanding. You received perfect scores in your entrance exams, as well as perfect scores on your finals just before graduation." He paused, and put his thumb against his bottom lip, still staring at me with his emotionless black eyes. "Two: you live in the same area I suspect Kira to reside."  
"What?!" all the detectives exclaimed in surprise.  
"No offense or anything, Ryuzaki," Aizawa said, on the verge of angrily. "But isn't that a bit dangerous? If Kira ever finds out that she's helping us, it would be easier than ever for him to kill her!"  
"I took that thought into consideration," L replied, as Watari walked back into the room, pushing a TV on a stand with his left hand and carrying another plate of cake with his right. "I came to the conclusion that Ena Wakahisa living in the same area as Kira could only be of benefit to the investigation," L finalised.  
"What do you mean?" Chief Yagami inquired.  
"Since I suspect that Kira only needs a face and a name to kill, it doesn't matter where his victims live," L explained, taking the offered plate of cake from Watari. "I'll keep an eye on the situation, and if I feel Ena is ever in any danger because of her location, I'll simply change her location." L shoved his fork into his cake in almost a gleeful manner and took a bite, staring me dead in the eyes. "If you'd like to leave this investigation after finding out that you live in close proximity of Kira, then I understand. You're free to leave if that is what you want."  
I gulped and thought about his offer. Could I be killed by Kira if I also owned a Death Note?  
I wasn't sure, but as I continued to stare into L's endless gaze, I suddenly had the feeling that he'd planned all of this out and knew exactly what he was doing.  
Hm. I decided I might as well stick around.  
"No, I'd like to stay," I answered, firmly. "I trust that you know what you're doing."  
L didn't break his gaze away from mine for a moment, and seemed to be thinking. Then, he finally jerked his face in the opposite direction and took another bite of his cake.  
"That's settled then," he said.  
Watari set the television up so it was visible to all of us, but even though L could see the video from his seat in his chair, he stood up and sat down on the couch, his face inches from the screen.  
The video was played.  
It showed the FBI agent getting on the train, then riding for a good half an hour or so, and then finally getting off.  
Just as the agent exited the train, he clutched his chest and dropped.  
"Eh-!" I sucked in a sharp breath, realising that I was now watching a man die.  
Just as the doors of the train closed, Raye Penber reached out with his dying energy and seemed to be looking at someone who was still remaining on the train as it sped away.  
The video clip ended, and L spun around in his seat to face us all.  
"Input?" he questioned us, finishing off his second piece of cake and setting the empty plate back on the table.  
"There was someone else on the train," I suggested quietly.  
L's gaze snapped over to me and I couldn't meet his eyes because his stare was so strong.  
"Someone else on the train," L repeated, also quietly.  
"Raye Penber was reaching out to someone," I digressed, finally flicking my eyes up to meet his own.  
His black gaze seemed to suck my own in, and I found myself trying to find a trace of emotion in them... Although his eyes were carefully guarded, I needed to find something there... Nobody could completely wipe away their emotions.  
"You are correct, Ena Wakahisa," L said, finally breaking eye contact with me and looking about the room to the detectives. "One other thing. Does anyone see it?"  
"Raye Penber went in carrying that Manilla envelope, and left with nothing," someone voiced, although I couldn't turn my head to see who it was.  
For some reason, I had fixated myself on the television and couldn't look away. L's intent stare hadn't helped either.  
"Right," L replied, turning back to the television to study the scene that had been paused. "Which means Kira must have been on that train."  
Everyone was silent as they considered this fact.  
Suddenly, the phone rang, making everyone jump, and Watari walked over to answer it. After listening for a moment, he handed the phone over directly to L, who received it looking perplexed.  
"Hm?" he said after a while. "I see. Thank you."  
He handed the phone back to Watari, then jumped up from his chair.  
His bare feet padded softly as he quickly paced the room. I noticed his shoulders were hunched like usual and briefly wondered to myself why he had such strange posture.  
"Raye Penber's fiancée has been reported missing," L explained to us.  
"What?" Chief Yagami exclaimed.  
"Eh... Why is that important?" Matsuda questioned, scratching his head in confusion.  
"Assuming Kira is the reason she's disappeared..." L started, his thumb pressed against his lower lip, "then this only adds to the fact that Kira was somehow connected to Raye Penber." He sharply turned and met each of our gazes separately. "So I've narrowed down the list of suspects to only the two families Raye Penber had been assigned to follow."  
"Who are they?" Chief Yagami asked, confidently. "Whichever families had anything to do with this need to be properly surveillanced."  
"They were," L didn't even hesitate, "the families of Deputy Director Kitamura, and Chief Soichiro Yagami."  
"What-?!" Yagami exclaimed, in shock. "You had Penber following MY family?!"  
"Ryuzaki," one of the other detectives- I believed it was Aizawa- complained. "Yagami's family wouldn't have anything to do with this-"  
"Chief Yagami, I am requesting that we do full surveillance on your house, as well as the home of Kitamura," L replied cooly, completely ignoring Aizawa's remarks. "To be able to completely rule out your family members as suspects, we'd need cameras in every room- bedrooms, bathrooms, spare rooms-"  
"Bathrooms-?" Yagami cut off in surprise.  
"Ryuzaki, this is unacceptable!" Aizawa exclaimed in anger. "Deputy Director Kitamura has a daughter- This is a complete violation of privacy!"  
"Then when we do surveillance of Yagami's house, he will be the only one else allowed to review the footage," L explained calmly. "And Ena Wakahisa will view the footage of Kitamura's home, as she is also a girl."  
I gave a start, because my name had been so suddenly thrown into the conversation, but nobody looked over at me.  
"It's still a violation of-" Aizawa started agitatedly, but Chief Yagami cut him off.  
"Do what you have to," the Chief growled. "Clear my family's name, and do it quickly."  
He obviously was still not quite satisfied, but he was giving L his permission to continue with the surveillance.  
"Thank you for your cooperation, Chief Yagami," L replied, his dark eyes staring at the man as if for forgiveness. "We'll start the installation of the cameras at a time when nobody is at your home."  
"I'll get back to you on the time," Yagami growled again, then slammed out the door angrily.  
"Then everyone is free to leave until I call you back," L announced quietly to everyone. "We won't be meeting for a few days, as to give us time to do the surveillance, so enjoy your time off."  
Everyone stood up with a stretch, and started leaving the room.  
I looked across the space at the window, where I could see Nobu sitting in midair, staring at the city below. It was like he hadn't even heard the ruckus going on around him.  
He had been awfully quiet... Not to mention, awfully disinterested in the entire Kira scenario...  
"Ena Wakahisa," L's voice cut into my thoughts, and I jumped a bit in surprise before quickly turning in his direction.  
"Yes?" I asked.  
L was standing beside my chair, where I hadn't even made to stand up to leave.  
I quickly stood up and waited politely before him, curious as to what he wanted. His dark eyes stared into my own once again, but I was able to not lose myself in the search for the life in his eyes.  
"Will you aid me in the surveillance of Kitamura's home? I'd feel wrong to let a man view the footage," L explained, his dark eyes wider than usual.  
"Of course," I agreed, with a small bow. "I'll do whatever I can to help."  
"Thank you," L replied quietly, his posture still slightly bent. "I have another question to ask of you, if you don't mind."  
"Not at all," I waved a hand in the air as if to dismiss his fears. "Go ahead."  
"I'd like your professional opinion..." L said, his thumb against his bottom lip once again. His eyes slightly unfocused and held a distance as if he were thinking deeply. "About Raye Penber... Why do you think he would agree to meet Kira on that train?"  
"I..." Taking a deep breath, I tried to think of the situation in a professional light. As a psychiatrist, I reevaluated the scenario quickly in my head. "Because Raye Penber was an FBI agent and also an American in a foreign country, he wouldn't do anything to hinder the case on purpose. Which means I believe that Kira had something against him... Maybe something to do with his fiancée, because now she's missing as well."  
Suddenly, L gave me a startled glance, as if something that had been so obvious had smacked him directly across the face. He stared at me for a long moment, then let out a small sigh.  
"Hm... I believe you're correct in that assumption," L replied. He paused. "You can go home. I'll give you the details about where to meet me for the surveillance soon."  
"Alright," I turned and gripped the door handle, opening the door with something like hesitation in my chest. I suddenly turned around again, not quite understanding what I was about to say. "And... L?"  
"Ryuzaki," he reminded me, amusedly looking back up at me from his same slightly-hunched stance across the room.  
"Right," I remembered, then continued with my original thought. "Don't worry about Chief Yagami being angry about the surveillance. He knows that if Penber had been following anyone else, he'd be all for the cameras. He's just trying to keep his work life and his personal life separate, but now that they're entwined, he's having a hard time seeing his own family from a detached viewpoint."  
L's eyes widened a fraction, and he didn't respond for a moment. His thumb was still pushing against his bottom lip, and a black strand of his hair fell out of place in the silence.  
"Is that your professional opinion?" L finally asked.  
"Ah... Well, both my professional opinion and my personal opinion," I replied, with a nervous chuckle. "I just saw the expression on your face when Chief Yagami stormed out of here..."  
"I see," L said, removing his thumb. "I was right in hiring you for this case."  
"I- thank you," I bowed again, taken aback by the sudden compliment.  
"I'm not particularly worried about Yagami's anger towards me at the moment," L added, his deep voice still as emotionless as ever. "But it was quite interesting to hear your opinions of him."  
"Hm, well I can't fully believe that you're not worried about his anger," I replied, cautiously. "But I do believe you had doubts for a moment... I think doing the surveillance is the right thing to do."  
L didn't say anything to my words.  
I suddenly felt a bit idiotic for going on about my own opinions and gave him a nod before finally leaving the room.  
I let the door shut quietly behind me.


End file.
